In July this year the 6th Best Of Shanghai Awards took place in order to celebrate the city's best offerings for all sorts of categories. One of these categories was yoga and as I wrote in an earlier post about the best Healthy Choices in our city Pure Yoga was voted the best yoga center in Shanghai. Therefore I just had to check it out.

On the top of the IAPM shopping mall on Huaihai lu/Shaanxi nan lu over-viewing Shanghai's French Concession you find Pure Yoga.

Pure Yoga is dedicated to serving the yoga community in Asia and beyond. We currently have a network of yoga studios across Asia, with prime locations in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore and Taipei. Our reach went global with the opening of Pure Yoga in New York - a collaborative venture with Equinox, one of the leading fitness brands in the US.

— Pure Yoga

I have a few friends who are members at Pure Yoga and they speak highly of this modern yoga studio. Still, I was a little bit skeptic about this center because of the fact that it is located in one of the greatest commercial shopping malls I've ever come across (and which happens to be my neighbor). You see, I'm so much into simplicity of life and this life philosophy is such a good combo with yoga and the old Indian principles behind.

So Pure Yoga in all its fanciness - can it really embrace the principles of traditional Yoga and capture the true essence?

I must say Pure Yoga really surprised me. As I walked through Saturday-busyness and over-consumerism in the IAPM mall and into Pure Yoga, it was like entering a different world. I immediately felt like taking a rest in their lounge area, enjoying a tea while overlooking my current home-area from the panorama windows or joining the tired yoga practitioners who took a nap in the rest-area. But my class was just about to begin so I went to studio 2 and chose a mat.

Then Adam happened. Adam is a yogi from the US who is currently in Shanghai to teach yoga and to share his passion for the philosophy behind. It's fair to say that his positive vibes, confident voice and peace of mind had my + my 15 yoga classmates' attention for all 70 minutes of this Vinyasa class. We practiced bakasanas or crow pose and he tried to teach us "how to fly". Afterwards I practiced a little bit by myself. I wanna fly.

2 hours flew by in the Shanghai Pure Yoga studio and then it was my time to be super Chinese and take a nap in their rest area.

Let's have a try

Pure Yoga is a pretty expensive center but from what I know their pricing is pretty transparent so at least you know you're not being ripped off just because you are a foreigner (or bad at negotiating). I believe their memberships are around 10.000/year... Yes it ain't cheap but if you're in Shanghai for a fixed period why not invest in yourself and leave Shanghai as a little yoga or at least being much more flexible, much more healthy and much more happy (it's yoga it's magic!). A center like Pure Yoga with its fanciness and amazing environment will certainly motivate you to come to class!

For now, do your body & your mind a favor and book a trial class through their website. A drop-in class is RMB300 but a trial is free!